The worries, fears, and pains that have been forcibly suppressed in the past few months have all surfaced, and Ruyi has exposed his most vulnerable side. It didn't solve anything, but she did need to cry. Always so suppressed and tense and refusing to relax, she has actually reached the verge of collapse.

Erlang couldn't help but want to touch her head and tell her that she didn't have to hold on in front of him, because he would solve a qiē for her. She can demand and rely on him as much as she wants.

But if he is really so omnipotent, how can he make Ruyi cry like this?

There really is such a thing in this world, even if he has grown up, he still can't do it for her with all his might.

However, Ruyi will not choose to rely on him. She said, "I'll go to him myself," she said, "If he or I bring his people back, if he dies, I'll bring back his bones," and she didn't give anyone else a place to read. It's just about the two of them.

She had always been a self-righteous girl who went her own way. If she wants the person she likes to come back, she will go to him herself, and she will bring him back whether she lives or dies. She would never spend her life begging, "Please help me bring him back." ”

It's obviously a girl, why did she grow up so strong. In this way, how strong he must be to be in order to completely take her under his wings.

Ruyi didn't cry for long—the wanton, loud crying that didn't last long.

She quickly calmed down and returned to her previous state of "having to pull herself together." But this time it was a choice made after knowing that he was vulnerable. The haze of self-repression in her body has dissipated a lot, and the belief in her heart has become clearer and purer.

But nothing else has changed.

-- Xu Yi's whereabouts are unknown, the situation in Huainan is dangerous, and the famine in Gyeonggi is raging.

If she didn't get through this hurdle, she wouldn't be able to set out to find Xu Yi. She hadn't done it that much. If you really run to the battlefield or the enemy country at this time, you don't have to say find Xu Yi, but I'm afraid that even she will have to get in. In troubled times, people are like ants, even though she may be a more noble ant, but when fate crushes her, I am afraid that she will not distinguish between them.

So she did her best, even if it was to destroy her family and relieve the difficulties, she also wanted to do something to calm the troubled times. What's more, she sat and enjoyed the offerings of others, and this was originally the time when she should have stepped forward.

"You go out for a while, I'll wash my face." She said to Jiro.

She has always been plain faced, and she doesn't have to touch up her makeup anymore. After cleaning your face with clean water, dry it with a towel, take a slight sip of your hair, and then come out of the house.

"Don't tell Sù A-Niang." Let's talk about it first.

Erlang said viciously, "Am I so idle?" ”

Ruyi asked him to sit down again. She still had a nasal voice, her eyes were still red, and the traces of crying had not subsided, and she spoke businesslike again, "What are you going to do with the famine in the Gyeonggi area?" ”

- Erlang originally thought that he would go out of Jiangzhou or Jingzhou, but unexpectedly, the Son of Heaven ordered him to be the assassin of Yangzhou. Yangzhou Prefecture is located in Danyang County, which is actually still letting Erlang garrison the capital.

Of course, this is the trust and favor of the Son of Heaven for Erlang, but immediately after the defeat of the front line, the Jiangnan harvest was lost, and how to stabilize the situation in Gyeonggi under the famine, this burden was also on Erlang's shoulders.

These days, Erlang is busy with this matter, and only said, "What else can I do?" Grain and grass can only be transferred to Beijing from all over the country. ”

Originally, Yangzhou is ripe and the world is full, Yangzhou is the largest granary in the south of the Yangtze River, and only Yangzhou rice has always been shipped out, and there is no internal supply to come in. Jiangzhou and Jingzhou, which are close to Yangzhou, are places with many hilly mountains and rivers and few fertile fields, and they can be self-sufficient at most. Xuzhou and Runan are in the midst of war. How can it be said that it is so easy to bring grain from these places?

Erlang said again, "Fortunately, the year of Shu has been very good in the past few years, and there is a lot of surplus grain. It's just that the waterway from Qutang to Yichang is dangerous and not so easy to transport out. ”

Ruyi said, "In the past few years, I have collected 100,000 grains in Shudi, and because of this reason, most of them have not been shipped out. Since the year before last, the method of offering a reward for the grain ship to leave Qutang Gorge safely has collected some local veterans who have been at the helm of the boat, but there is no very labor-saving and reliable method. I can only hire more local good tricks and take risks. ”

Erlang nodded and sighed, "It's October in a blink of an eye, and the grain in the hands of the people must have been almost consumed. ”

Ruyi said, "Doesn't Daddy plan to open a regular closing position?" ”

Since the Han Dynasty, Chang Ping has been mostly abandoned and left unset up - and there is no food to save in the troubled times. Although it is said that the regular liquidation of "increasing the price when the grain is cheap, and reducing the price when the grain is expensive" is set up for the benefit of farmers and the people, in fact, whenever someone operates, it is inevitable to engage in favoritism and irregularities. What's more, in today's world, the powerful in various localities monopolize the local elected officials and control the local military and government, and no one can supervise them. In their hands, the constant closing of positions is simply a tool to encroach on the people's interests.

It's just that this dynasty is rich and peaceful, and after the Taihu generation has a bumper harvest one after another, the Son of Heaven is afraid that the grain will hurt the people, and in order to accumulate grain, he re-set the regular closing position.

Ruyi feels that now is the time to open a position and save the emergency.

Erlang smiled lightly and said, "If you don't open a position, you may be able to get through it." If you want to open a position, I'm afraid that it will be chaotic immediately. ”

Ruyi thought to himself, often closing is the last resort, as long as you don't open regular closing, everyone knows that there is a last retreat. That's why the Son of Heaven refuses to open a position lightly. However, the Son of Heaven may have overestimated the people's grain stocks, and underestimated the difficulty of Shudi's grain entering Beijing. I don't know if it's time to open it or take precautions, and I'm afraid it will be a dead end if it opens again in a few days.

Erlang knew the true meaning of this sentence - all the states and counties said that there was no grain in the Changping warehouse and refused to take it out. The local Chang Ping was originally forbidden by the family, and each family was its own family, unwilling to share suffering with the country. The more the country is in crisis, the more it is necessary to preserve its strength, which is their consistent style. The Son of Heaven should have gotten used to it. But the closing of the position in Jingkou is always in the hands of the imperial court himself. And how much grain is there?

-- 50,000 Hu, only 50,000 Hu!

The rest was embezzled. And the one in charge of Jingkou Changping is indeed a descendant who is loyal to the Son of Heaven.

When he was young, the Son of Heaven was the first holy king in Erlang's heart. But as he grew older, the myth of his father gradually stripped away its brilliance and revealed the truth - the Son of Heaven was actually just an old man with empty ambitions, but he couldn't help but face the erosive status quo. He has suppressed all his life for the families who have no monarchy in their hearts, but he still hasn't been able to suppress them. And the people he favored, such as the Miaoyin who killed his father, such as Xiao Maode*, and Xiao Zhengqing, brought disaster to the country and the people, and the rest of the generals of the lineage were also greedy and corrupt, and he could not strictly restrain them.

Erlang wanted to be strictly investigated, but the Son of Heaven was worried about the turmoil of the country and refused to use severe punishments.

The higher his status in the court, the more confidential tasks he participates in, the more Erlang feels like he is in a quagmire. In fact, he had already spent enough time in Jiankang City, and if he continued to stay in this environment, he was afraid that sooner or later he would be exhausted and become a sober but useless lord like the Son of Heaven and Vimo.

Erlang was bored, so he heard Ruyi say, "I still have seventy or eighty thousand grains in my hand, which can be transferred within three or five days." If you need to, you can just take it to the emergency - it was also prepared for the moment. ”

Erlang was silent, and only said after a while, "It's not time for you to destroy your family and relieve your trouble." ”

Ruyi said, "Who ruined the family and relieved the trouble." These are not given to you for free, they are sold to you. You are not allowed to pay your bills with iron money, which is now so cheap that no one will accept it. I don't want real money either. But if there are any treasures in the treasury, such as coral gems embroidered screens, you can give me a bargain. If you have enough, I can raise food for you. ”

Jiro: ......

Seriously, the hard currency of real money and silver is really reluctant to take it out at this time. But pearls and gemstones, which seem to be precious, are useless at such times. As long as he can exchange for food, he can convince the Son of Heaven to take as much as he wants.

But—"Where else can you raise food?" ”

Ruyi said, "Who in a wealthy family doesn't have seven or eight years of grain in their hands?" It's just up to you to get it out of them. I have a way to get them to exchange food for these 'priceless treasures'. Don't say buy low and sell high, but at least it won't make you lose money. ”

Erlang knew that Ruyi would do what he said - let his sister engage in business for him, and he felt very uncomfortable. But he still said, "Then I will go back and count the treasury." ”

Ruyi nodded, and said, "I heard that the imperial court is discussing how to stabilize prices, and I also have an idea here." Do you listen? ”

Erlang said, "You say." ”

Ruyi said, "In fact, Jiangzhou and Jingzhou are not without surplus grain, but these grains are scattered in various households, scattered, if the imperial court wants to allocate it, there is only one way to loot and apportion, am I right?" Erlang nodded, and said as expected, "But in fact, there is a way, which will not encroach on the people's interests, and there is no need for the imperial court to make a big move, so that these grains can naturally gather in Yangzhou." ”

Erlang said, "Are you talking about collecting grain at a high price?" It's not that Erlang hasn't thought about it, it's just that the lesson of Chang Ping is there, the imperial court collects grain at a high price, and it is inevitable that the officials who handle it in the middle will be exploited and corrupted layer by layer, and it is easy to evolve into looting and apportionment. It is really reasonable, but it is harmful.

Ruyi said, "Although it is not hit, it is not far away - there is no need for the imperial court to collect it at a high price." As long as the imperial court liberalizes the price of grain, the prospective grain merchants set their own prices, and then dredge the road from Jiangzhou and Jingzhou to Yangzhou, so that the grain merchants will be exempted from paying the money to enter and leave the city gate. Naturally, the merchants would go to the private sector to buy grain and transport it to Gyeonggi for resale. When more food comes in, the price of food will naturally come down, and the famine will be alleviated. She paused, "Naturally, the price of intermediate grain will inevitably skyrocket for a while - but as long as you have food in your hands, you can guarantee that it will not rise so outrageously." I think I can still give it a try. ”

Erlang knew in his mind that this method could indeed be tried.

In just a few words with Ruyi, he felt that his mind was much broader. It is far more useful than listening to the courtiers of the Son of Heaven in the court, stating the people's feelings, calculating and planning, arguing and prevaricating for a long time.

Then it dawned on him that it wasn't the only thing. In fact, even Ruyi did more than the imperial court. Not to mention, the grain and grass that the court said that it would transfer are still patrolling in Sichuan and Shu, and Ruyi has raised 780,000 grains by himself.

Where he didn't realize it, Ruyi was already flying far ahead of him. obviously suffered a heavy blow, but when he was confused and trapped, she still did her best to shelter and help him.

And he is still distressed and unhappy that Ruyi is tired of "housework", and he still takes it for granted that he should shelter her under his wings, so that she can be a princess of peace without worries.

Erlang suddenly felt that his face was hot.

He hurriedly got up and said, "I'll find someone to refer to." There are still a lot of official duties in the house, and I will stay soon. ”

Ruyi didn't leave him either, but said, "I'll send someone to send you the voucher for taking food later." ”

Jiro said, "Hmm." ”

He left in a hurry, but when he walked into the courtyard, he couldn't help but turn back and said, "You're going to kowtow to A-Niang in a while, right?" ”

Ruyi said, "Yes......"

Jiro said, "I'll go with you—you wait for me to pick you up." ”

Ruyi's eyes are soft and warm. In the thick autumn in the south of the Yangtze River, there are heavy red and light yellow leaves in the courtyard, and the blue sky is clear above the courtyard. She stood on the stone steps in front of the door and said shallowly, "Okay." ”